Monday, July 18, 2011

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

I rolled out at 11am, again after it was nice and hot. I decided to fight the traffic and head up to Craggy Gardens for a solid climbing work out. I started out too fast, but then reeled myself in and warmed up properly. Didn't want to "pull a hammy".

It turned out that the traffic was not too bad, and I was able to get lost in thought and the sights. It is so cool to be able to ride out of my driveway and be a couple of thousand feet off of the valley floor in less than an hour. As I climbed the air cooled and then it felt like someone turned on the air conditioner. I soaked it in, anticipating the heat back down in the valley.

As I rounded the last bend at the gap, after filling my bottle with fresh mountain spring water, I was greeted with some dark clouds rolling in. I was looking forward to racing the storm home.

fresh piped water

I paused at the Visitor Center for a few minutes before heading back down. On the downhill I felt relaxed and euphoric. I was at ease, spinning the cranks, living in the moment. When I got back down, it was warm but due to storms rolling in, the air had cooled off somewhat, so I didn't get blasted by the furnace that I had expected.

Monday, July 04, 2011

With the Pisgah MTB Stage Race roughly 3 months away, I figured it was time to get more consistent with training.
I set out a little late Sunday morning, the temps were already up, and the humidity high. I was in for an easy paced ride, since the day before I had ridden a fairly good clip with Kevin Hessler.

I stopped at this church to refill my water bottle, and had to spread the love....

End of the ride treat: fresh mountain red raspberries, bonus recovery points in the form of antioxidents!